We are well into 2019 already, but today I’m excited to share one of my personal highlights from 2018: my trip to Turks and Caicos with the Do family.

You could say that Deniz and Khoa and I are used to travelling together at this point. Daniel and I travelled to Turkey with them in 2012 for their engagement session, and then again to Turks and Caicos soon after for their wedding. Since then their family has grown to include two beautiful, smart girls, Sevin and Yasamin. I was lucky enough to be invited to travel with them for the third time, back to Turks and Caicos, but with the kids this time. As you can imagine, I am very familiar with travelling with kids (our own kids have been all over the world with us) so I was absolutely thrilled to take on this assignment!

Turks and Caicos is known for its white sandy beaches and crystal clear turquoise water, but my favourite moments to photograph were the ones in between our trips to the beach. Staying at the condo with the whole family meant that I was there for every diaper change, every feeding, and as a result, every spontaneous moment of laughter or affection. The sisters’ interactions with one another were particularly fun for me to observe; Yazzy poking her sleeping sister’s face after she passed out in the car, Sevin serenading her baby sister as she napped in the living room. There were “huggles” (Do family talk for hugs/cuddles), impromptu dance parties, and ukulele concerts. And every moment, both big and small, was special and precious in its own way.

Documenting family life, whether is a normal day at home or a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, is my absolute favourite photography assignment and I could not be more grateful to the Dos for allowing me to join them in Turks and Caicos. I absolutely loved every second of it!

It’s bittersweet to be writing this post. On the one hand, we are excited to finally share the images from Maddie and Conor’s Yosemite wedding, but on the other, this marks the end of an era! Maddie is the third and last of the Veal sisters, which means that this was the third and last Veal sister wedding for us to photograph. Her sister Eliza started the tradition when she hired us for her wedding to Seth in Guatemala 4 years ago, and her other sister Hannah followed suit a year later when she married Geoff in Los Angeles. We also photographed their good friend Sarah’s wedding in San Miguel de Allende earlier this year. Needless to say, we’ve come to think of ourselves as part of the Veal family, and it’s been an honour and a privilege to be their official wedding photographers throughout these last few years.

It’s been particularly enjoyable to see each sister’s unique take on her own wedding and we were so excited when Maddie and Conor chose to get married in Yosemite. Friends and family travelled deep into the woods, staying in cabins and essentially playing gown-up summer camp for the weekend. It was as far away from city life as you can get just a few hours from San Francisco, and some of their guests even received a visit from a bear cub who broke into their cabin and helped himself to some cake from their kitchen!

The festivities kicked off with a BBQ/open-mic party as friends and family took turns telling embarrassing, moving, and hilarious stories about the couple. Both Maddie and Conor come from families with many strong women (Eliza and Hannah have only contributed to this since they’ve each had a daughter since their weddings!), and this became a bit of a theme throughout the speeches. So did stories of the torture Maddie endured at the hands of her older sisters growing up!

The next day everyone gathered to listen as it was Maddie and Conor’s turn to speak, as they exchanged heartfelt vows that had everyone laughing and crying, often simultaneously. There was something magical about experiencing all of these emotions in the great outdoors. Even the dance party seemed to contain a little something special by taking place under the stars. The night ended in the lodge, where Maddie and Conor were serenaded by their friends.

Lucky for us the weekend wasn’t over quite yet, and we had the opportunity to stay a few extra days with Maddie and Conor. We headed deeper into the park to Bridal Veil Falls and the Half Dome viewpoints for some classic views of Yosemite. The views did not disappoint, and we witnessed some of Mother Nature’s finest work, including some beautiful light.

When weddings turn into adventures, it really doesn’t get much better. But when it all happens with a couple like Maddie and Conor, who feel like family, we can’t help but feel that we’ve really hit the jackpot. It’s the end of an era, perhaps, but we have these incredible experiences and some great friends to show for it. And that’s nothing to be sad about!

*Disclaimer: We feel it is important to note that Maddie and Conor remained on the safe side of the fence for their portraits. The opening image in this post was edited to remove the guardrail behind them for aesthetic purposes. We are aware that fatal accidents have taken place for the sake of photography in Yosemite and we want to encourage everyone, especially photographers to put safety before everything else.

If I were to use one word to sum up both Shireen and Domenic on their wedding day it would be excited. They were both just so darn excited to be marrying each other! The anticipation of the morning all lead to the moment where Dom first saw Shireen as a bride as she walked down the aisle. They could hardly contain themselves; they were downright giddy, grinning at and whispering to each other. And their vows... I must admit that they were some of the best we've ever heard. They both absolutely nailed it with a perfect combination of hilarity and emotion. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. My personal favorite was when Shireen listed all the things she loves about Dom, adding at the very end: "plus you're so hot which is a bonus."

Shireen is lucky to be surrounded by very strong, incredible women. Her relationships with these women were clearly very important to her, and they all played an important role on her wedding day just as they do in her life. She was walked down the aisle by her mother along with her father, her step-mother was her maid of honour, and her little sister a bridesmaid. I was especially smitten with her little sister, a "big person stuck in a little person's body" as she describes herself. She and Shireen adore each other, and she especially adores Domenic! She and Shireen's younger brother made an adorable speech at the reception which once again brought tears to everyone's eyes, including us of course.

Domenic is from a big, beautiful, emotional Italian family who poured so much love on him and his new wife all throughout the day. They also poured a bunch of confetti on them at the reception... so much that Shireen still insists that she inhaled some!

One of the best parts about photographing weddings in our native Montreal is that we get to reconnect with some of our favourite fellow industry professionals, like Azar from Principal Planner who absolutely knocked it out of the park with the decor and coordination at St-James Theatre. The other is that we actually get to see our clients slash new friends more often, as was the case with Shireen and Domenic. We've already gone on a double-date with them since their wedding, and we're so excited to have them as new friends!

For most of our 11 years as wedding photographers we have been primarily natural light photographers. We like to keep things simple, and as destination wedding photographers, we like to keep our gear as lightweight as possible.

But there are times where a photographer just needs their own light. Times where there are no windows and only overhead spotlights… times where group photos have to happen right here and right now… times where we just need a little pop of light on our subjects… times where there was no room in the lighting budget for a spotlight… you get the idea.

Because we like simplicity, we’ve used video light as our main source of off-camera lighting for the last several years. We love the ease of using continuous light, but there are times where it’s just not powerful enough, and we’ve had to reconsider our lack of off-camera flash use.

Enter the B10. An off-camera flash AND video light in one, that is lightweight, powerful, with a sleek, user-friendly interface that even the least technical photographer (me) can control right from a smartphone. This thing not only checks all the boxes, it adds extra boxes that we didn’t even know we needed but that actually, we definitely needed.

We had the perfect opportunity to take the B10 for a test drive on a day-after shoot just this past weekend. The bride and groom were exhausted, as were we, and the last thing any of us felt like doing was dragging ourselves around the wet streets of Montreal (it had been raining on and off all day), so we suggested they meet us in the studio. The bride admitted that they were planning on canceling altogether but the idea of meeting in the studio seemed doable enough, so they went along with it.

She had a stunning Berta gown that she didn’t end up wearing on the wedding day, so the purpose of this session was really to photograph her in this gown, as well as get some additional intimate portraits of the bride and groom together.

One of the selling points of our day-after sessions is timing the portraits at the end of the day so we can get the best light. Needless to say, the rainy weather was not cooperating, so we decided to create our own sunset light with the B10.

Even with our limited experience with off-camera lighting, setting up the B10 was as simple as it gets. We mounted it to a boom, high up, beyond where we could reach it, and with the smartphone app we were able to control the intensity and temperature of the light to somewhat mimic the setting sun.

We both agreed that this setup will be a new go-to for us, as it can literally be done anywhere. We were in the studio this time, but one of us could easily hold the light while the other shoots. By having the B10 on the continuous light feature, we could both photograph the couple without the distraction of the flash going off to interrupt their romantic connection.

The flash setting also allowed us to create some super clean and simple portraits of the bride in her gown. We placed her in a white scoop, softened the light with an umbrella, and with a slowed shutter speed, we had her sway the dress around to create a bit of movement.

We’re just getting started with the B10, but we are thrilled with our first test run. We can’t wait to take it around the world and see what we can do together!

If you've seen our class on Creative Live, then you are no stranger to Sarah and Aaron's wedding! They were gracious enough to let us use them and their wedding as an example of how we approach weddings from a storytelling point of view, from an informal meeting to the event itself. We even sported GoPros on our cameras so the Creative Live audience could be there with us as we navigated each situation. It was kinda intense, and we are so lucky to have had Sarah and Aaron agree to go along with it! The response we got from students was incredible, and we could not have done it without Sarah and Aaron's participation.

But before her role on Creative Live, Sarah had a role as a recurring wedding guest for us. A good friend of the Veal sisters, Eliza (Guatemala, 2014), Hannah (Los Angeles, 2015), and Maddie (Yosemite, June 2018 - coming soon!), Sarah had seen us in action and knew that she wanted us there when it was her turn to tie the knot. Lucky for everyone, she met her match in Aaron, a "hot Mexican hipster" (as Eliza described him in her speech). When we met them at their home in Los Angeles, just a few days before we all flew to Mexico for their wedding, we discussed everything that was special and important to them. Mezcal, and the lengths Aaron was taking to have the very best to serve to his guests, how much they love Casa Hyder, the eccentric home they'd rented in the heart of San Miguel de Allende to host the wedding, and of course the guests, friends and family who were near and dear to them, and some who could not be there.

This wedding came with a lot of pressure for us. Creative Live for one (we'd never had GoPros attached to our cameras following our every move!), but also the kind of pressure that comes from going to an incredible location with a bunch of other recurring guests.

Well, what can I say, this wedding delivered. Sarah and Aaron were everything we want in a couple: in love, and in the moment. The wedding weekend kicked off as Mojigangas (puppets) and a tequila donkey led Sarah and Aaron's Callejoneada (parade) to the welcome dinner which set the scene with some emotional speeches and many (many) delicious drinks. When we caught up with Sarah and Aaron the next day, the morning of the wedding, they were rehearsing their first dance on the rooftop before heading their separate ways to get ready. As an ode to the original Veal sisters' wedding, Eliza and Seth's, got dressed on the roof. The rest of the day alternated between tears and laughter, which went late into the night as guests then alternated between the dance floor and the many nooks and crannies of Casa Hyder. It was a like a treasure hunt for us: "Can you find the guest drawing the portrait of another guest? What about the man playing the piano? Do you see the couple getting cozy in the corner?" It was our second time at Casa Hyder, yet we still discovered new and interesting spots that we missed the first time.

Our greatest hope for couples on their wedding day is that they enjoy it to the fullest, together. Needless to say, Sarah and Aaron did exactly that, and as photographers, what else could we possibly need?!